Denton City Council Meeting - May 5, 2026: Lease, Zoning, and 311 Report
Denton City Council Meeting - May 5, 2026
The Denton City Council met on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, with a work session at 4:02 PM and the regular meeting at 6:30 PM. The agenda included a presentation on 311 operations, four proclamations, public comments, a consent agenda with three items pulled for separate votes, a public hearing on a zoning change, and several individual consideration items. Notable outcomes were the approval of a 20-year ground lease for the Denton City Federation of Women's Clubs after extensive debate, approval of sewer cost-sharing agreements, and authorization of bond notices. The meeting concluded at 11:13 PM.
Consent Calendar
- The consent agenda was approved 7-0, with items E, F, and O pulled for individual votes.
- Item E (Sidewalk Development Agreement): Initially postponed by Mayor Pro Tem, but later approved 7-0 after the developer provided clarification.
- Item F (Coal Ranch Improvement District Amendment): Approved 6-1. Councilmember Beck expressed concerns about oversight flexibility.
- Item O (Crack Seal Contract Extension): Approved 6-1. Councilmember Beck noted risk allocation concerns; others argued delays were unavoidable.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Dementia Friendly Denton: Ms. Short highlighted resources and caregiver support.
- Cooper Creek Maintenance: Mary Wright expressed frustration over the city's shift to a Wildflower Zone, lack of maintenance, and flood risks. She asked for a return to regular maintenance.
- Homeless Encampments: Prudence and Alfredo Sanchez described trash, fires, and human waste on their private property. They cited insufficient city response and a reactive approach to encampments. The city attorney clarified that property owners can request immediate trespass enforcement.
- City Manager Search: Larry Lawrence and Willie Hudsmith argued for hiring internally, specifically supporting Interim City Manager Ogden, citing cost savings and morale.
- Women's Club Lease (6A): Multiple speakers addressed the Quakertown history and the club's community role. Supporters (e.g., Mary Beth Rinky Doyle, Phyllis Minton, Kimberly Thaggard) emphasized the club's volunteer work and affordable venue use. Opponents (e.g., Sean Treat, Katina Stone Butler, Reverend Logan) called for postponement to allow community dialogue and restorative justice.
Discussion Items
- 311 Operations Report: Sheila Graham, 311 Operations Manager, reported that Denton 311 launched in March 2024, now serves 16 departments, and handles over 8,200 calls per month. The on-time closure rate improved from 51% to 85% (88% in April). Top service requests: parking violations and high weeds. Council discussed anonymous reporting, ticket status updates, and app usability. Staff encouraged use of the app to manage call volume.
- Proclamations: Council recognized Small Business Week (May 3–9), Bike Month (May), Drinking Water Week (May 3–9), and TWU Gymnastics National Championship (May 5, 2026, declared TWU Gymnastics Day).
- Public Hearing – Zoning Change (5A): A request to rezone a 0.74-acre lot from R3 to R7 to allow four duplexes (eight units) at Bolivar and Talia Farrow Streets. Staff recommended approval. Neighbors (Sam Bunn, Candice Downing, Denise Galetta) opposed, citing parking, density, and property value concerns. Applicant Amy Bissett noted that six units could be built by right under R3, and the change would only add two units. After debate, council tabled the item 7-0 to allow further neighborhood meetings.
- Women's Club Ground Lease (6A): The proposed lease with the Denton City Federation of Women's Clubs for 610 Oakland Street in Quakertown Park was debated. The lease reduces the footprint from ~29,000 to 18,000 sq. ft., sets annual rent at $1,320 plus 24 full-day rentals for city use, and includes community programming requirements. Councilmember Bird moved to postpone for stakeholder dialogue; the motion failed 4-3. The lease was then approved 4-3. Councilmember Bird explained she supported the lease only if renewal options were removed; others cited the need for a long-term solution.
- Coal Ranch Sewer Agreements (6B & 6C): The city approved a cost-sharing agreement for a 48-inch wastewater trunk main. The city will pay $8.6 million (59%) for oversizing, with Coal Ranch and Hunter Ranch covering the remainder. The agreements also amend the operating agreement for flexibility. Approved 7-0.
- Bond Notices (6D & 6E): Notices of intent to issue $82 million in certificates of obligation for general government and solid waste, and $243 million for water, wastewater, and electric projects. Staff noted reductions from previously budgeted amounts. The bond ordinances will come before council in July. Approved 7-0.
Key Outcomes
- 311 Operations: No formal action; council praised the program and asked staff to improve communication on ticket status and reduce app friction.
- Zoning Case (5A): Tabled 7-0; council directed staff to facilitate further neighborhood engagement.
- Women's Club Lease (6A): Approved 4-3 with a 20-year initial term and two 10-year renewals subject to future council approval. The city will receive 24 full-day rentals per year for municipal or city-sponsored events.
- Coal Ranch Sewer Agreements (6B & 6C): Approved 7-0.
- Bond Notices (6D & 6E): Approved 7-0; final bond ordinances expected in July.
- Council Member Farewells: Councilmembers Byrd and Beck gave closing remarks, reflecting on their service. Councilmember Bird thanked them and highlighted the community's engagement.
Meeting Transcript
No good afternoon and welcome to this meeting of Denton City Council today's date Tuesday, May 5th, 2026. It is 4 02 p.m. We'll call the meeting to order. First thing on the agenda in person. Let's see. No, here we go. Citizen comment on the consent agenda items. And having none takes us to uh request for clarification agenda items listed on the agenda for public hearing or individual consideration. Any um clarification on agenda items. Seeing none though, I'll note that items the following items were pulled. And and uh is there anyone that needs let me do this in order? Items are pulled. It'll be E F and O. No uh presentations, just separate vote, and that's EFO. No, M was not being pulled. So that's that. Then before we go into the first work session, do need clarification. We have placeholders for uh closed session. I do want to go into closed session for item A in the closed session portion of the agenda. Is anyone that needs to talk about the better say let me see? Yes. Is there anyone who needs to talk about the municipal judge uh appoint appointment and closed? Okay, then that then we'll we won't use that one. That's just a placeholder. We won't use that one. Um takes us to our work session item item 3A ID 260590, receive report whole discussion regarding the city's 311 operations. I will tell you. Good afternoon, Mayor and City Council. I'm Sheila Graham. I'm the Ditton 311 operations manager. So what is Denton 311? What is Denton 311 and who are we? So if you look at there's a photo of my team here, a couple of us were missing, but there are eight uh ten of us on the team, and we are a single point of contact for non-emergency city services. We enhance quality of life, we increase city efficiencies, uh and we provide residents with easy access to city services and a live person 365 days a year 247. So if you look at this timeline here, um you can see that Denton 311 went live with community improvement services in March of 2024. That was about 50 to 100 calls a month that we began taking for community improvement services. Um August 2024, we began taking 8200 calls, and 8200 previously had been the city's switch board. So if you called and you wanted a general number for the city, it was 8200. So when we began taking those calls in August of 2024, that was really our first experience speaking to the public directly. Now we have people who call, for example, when they're walking their dog in the morning every morning, and they call and they let us know what they're seeing in the community. Um the 311 three-digit dialing was available on National 311 day, which was March 11th, 2025. We began our social media campaign in spring of 2025, and we went live with the rest of the city departments or the city departments we service on uh in April of 2025. So we've been live a little over a year. So these are our service uh partners, some of our service partners. We are live with 16 city departments, and we provide a convenient way for residents to receive help with city services. So here when you look at this slide, we provide reliable service 24-7. We believe that emails and voicemails get lost and tickets get answered. If you look at the information on the right side of the slide, you can see that the service requests that were created by my agents, the service requests that are created via self-help channels, such as the mobile app and on the web. And then you can see info only. Info only are calls that we receive that are about something that's not a direct city service, right?
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